Attachment for printing-presses.



No. 687,227. PaiehtedNomZG, 19m.

. H. c. GRIFFIN.

ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed May 16, 1901.)

' (No Mod el.)

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UNITED STATES "PATENT- OFFICE.

HEBER C. GRIFFIN, OF FRANKLIN FALLS, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ATTACHMENT FOR PRlNTlNG-PRESSES.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,227, dated November 26, 1901.

' Application filed llllay 16, 1901. Serial No. 60,442. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEBER O. GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Franklin Falls, county of Merrimack, State of New Hampshire,'have invented an Improvement in Attachments for Printing-Presses, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of an attachment for manually-operated printing-presses, particularly of the hand-power type,whereby the operation thereof is effected in a better, easier, and more convenient manner.

Hand-power presses are usually provided with a hand lever or actuator which is grasped by the operator and swung to move the platen up and make'the impression, and thereafter the actuator must be held and controlled by the operator until the platen returns to normal position. Muscular power must thus be exerted to move the platen up to the form and actuate the inking mechanism, and thereafter to avoid shock or undue wear upon the press the operator must hold back or restrain the return movement of the hand-lever.

In my present invention I have provided means to automatically return the platen to normal position after the impression is made and to cushion and control such return, so that there will be no j olting, jarring,or shocks, and without any attention on'the part of the operator.

The handle is released as soon as the impression is made, permitting the free use of both hands to remove the printed sheet and place a fresh one upon the platen.

Various novel features of my invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a typical selfinking hand-power press with the attachment embodying one form of my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a right-hand end elevation of the attachment, the actuator or hand-lever of the press being shown; and Fig. 3 is an enlargeddetail, in elevation and partly broken out, of the piston of the cushioning device or controller herein illustrated.

Referring to Fig. 1, the press-frame F, platen P, ink table or disk D, inking-rollers R, chasesupport 0, and hand-lever or actuator A, fulcrumed at a, may be and are of usual construction and operate in well-known manner, movement of the actuator in direction of arrow 100 into dotted-line position, Fig. 1, carrying the rollers R over the form to the disk D and bringing the platen up to take the impression.

I have herein shown upright standards 1, secured to a base-plate 2, which is secured to the table, bench, or other support for the press, a rod 3, connecting the upper ends of the standards, and on said rod is fulcrumed a bell-crank 4 5, thehub 6 whereof is attached to a strong spring '7, coiled about the rod and adjustably secured at its other end, as will be described. A link 8 is pivotally connected M9 to the arm 4 of the bell-crank, and at its other end I have shown the link detachably connected withthe actuator A, a lateral stud e on the latter entering a notch 10 of the link and being retained by a suitable pin 11. A ratchet 12 is mounted rotatably on the rod 3, and adjacent the toothed periphery of the ratchet-disk I have provided a series of radial holes 13, a detent-pawl 14, mounted on the adjacent standard 1, engaging the ratchet, to the inner face of which the adjacent end of the spring 7 is secured.

Now when the operator has registered the sheet upon the platen he pulls down the handlever A in direction of arrow 100, Fig. 1, and

by means of the link 8 the bell-crank 4 5 is turned into dotted-line position, the spring 7 being compressed or wound up, storing up power to return the hand-lever and platen to normal position after release of the lever. The ratchet'and pawl fix the adjacent end of .the spring, and by inserting a rod in one of the holes 13 and using it as a lever the ratchet can be turned one or more teeth to increase the tension of the spring according to the work to be done.

To control the spring-actuated movement of the parts of the press and to prevent shock or jarring, I have provided means -to control and cushion the return movement of the handlever or actuator.

I have herein shown an air-check as one practical form of controlling device, comprising ahorizontal cylinder 15, fixed on the presssupport and having openings 16 in one of its heads 17 for the free inlet or exit of air, the other head 18 having a port 19, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) which preferably is controlled as to its size by an adjusting-screw 20. A piston 21 is mounted to move longitudinally on a piston-rod 22 between check-nuts 23 24, (see Fig. 3,) the piston tightly fitting the cylinder and having one or more apertures 25 therethrough, and a valve-disk 26 is secured to the piston-rod adjacent thenuts 24,between them and the piston. A short connecting-rod 27 is pivotally attached at its ends to the outer end of the piston-rod and the bell-crank arm 5. When the spring 7 is compressed, as described, the piston 21 is drawn to the righthand end of cylinder 15, (viewing Fig. 1,) and the air in the cylinder passes freely through the apertures 25, preventing any suction action, the valve-disk 26 on the outward stroke uncovering said apertures, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon the return stroke, however, when the actuator is released by the operator the piston-rod first moves relatively to the piston to place the valve-disk over the apertures 25, and then the air in the cylinder is more or less compressed between the head 18 and the piston, said air being slowly discharged through the port 19, according to the effective area thereof, controlled by the screw 20, and the bell-crank and lever A, with the platen and other moving parts of the press, return gradually and without shock to normal position. The holes 16 permit the air to freely enter the cylinder behind the piston and'to pass out on the outward stroke. After the impression has been taken the operator releases the handle A and pays no further attention thereto, both hands being free to withdraw the printed sheet and feed in the fresh one, the spring effecting the return of the parts to normal position and the controlling device preventing shock or jar.

The tension of the spring and the action of the controlling device can be readily adj usted, as described, to conform to the work to be done, whether theform is large or small.

By the detachable connection between the press and the attachment the latter can be easily disconnected when making ready, and any other suitable form of connection may be employed instead of the one herein shown. So, too, other forms of controlling means may be employed; but I prefer an aircheck, as it is quicker in the first part of its operation, giving the operator access to the platen sooner for the purpose of feeding.

If for any reason it be desired to connect my attachment to the platen rather than to the actuator or hand-lever, it can be done by simply reversing the bell-crank on its fulcrum, so that the arm 4 extends forward, and connecting it by a link directly to the platen.

The operation of the attachment will be precisely the same as has been hereinbefore described.

I have shown and described one practical embodiment of my invention, and the same may be varied or changed in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of the same.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a printing-press, the platen, a manually-operated actuator therefor, and yielding means to automatically effect the return of the platen to normal position without shock, said means including a pneumatic controller.

2. In a printing-press, the platen, a manually-operated actuator therefor, spring-actuated means to efiect the return movement of the platen, an adjusting device to vary the effective power of said means, and a cushioning device to control the operation of the said means.

3. In a printing-press, the platen, a manually-operated actuator therefor, and detachable means to effect the return movement of the actuator, said means including an adj ustable returning-sprin g, and an adjustable cushioning device.

4. In a printing-press, a manually-actuated member to operate the press and make the impression, spring-actuated means connected with said member to effect the return movement thereof, and a retarding device to govern the operation of said means and prevent shock or jar of the mechanism.

5. An attachment for manually-operated printing-presses, comprising a spring, means to connect it with the operating member of a press, to tighten the spring when the press is operated, a cushioningdevice, and connections between it and the spring, to govern the action of the latter in its return to normal condition.

6. An attachment for manually-operated printing presses, comprising a pivotallymounted bell-crank, a link connected with one arm and adapted to be connected with the operating member of the printing-press, a cushioning device operatively connected with the other of said arms, and a spring fixed at one end and connected at its other end with the bell-crank, rotative movement of the latter by operation of the press tightening the spring and putting the cushioning device in condition to control the unwinding of the spring.

7. In a printing'press, the platen, a handlever to actuate it, a spring, connections between the lever and spring to compress the latter when the lever is moved to operate the platen, and a controller to govern the expansion of the spring to effect retrograde movement of the lever, said controller comprising an air-cylinder having a port, and a valved piston, one movable relatively to the other, and connections between the movable member and the spring, to permit the cylinder to fill with air when the spring is compressed.

S. In a printing-press, the platen, a handlever to actuate it, a rotatably-supported bellcrank having two arms, a spring secured at I of the spring, and means to vary the action one end to said bell-crank, means to adj ustof the check. ably hold the other end of the spring, con- In testimony whereof I have signed my nections between the hand-lever and one of name to this specification in the presence of 5 the arms, to wind up the spring when the let-wo subscribing witnesses.

ver is manually actuated to operate the platen, ,1 unwinding of the spring returning the lever HEBER GRH E and platen to normal position, an air-check, Witnesses: operative connections between it and the FRANK PROOTOR,

10 other of said arms, to govern the unwinding C. C. PAIGE. 

